


Not My Best

by AgapeAnthos



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Forgive me for changing things as we go, Gen, I Will Go Down With This Ship, No idea where this is going, Not Beta Read, Severus Snape Lives, Totally pantsing this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 01:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18488785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgapeAnthos/pseuds/AgapeAnthos
Summary: "You were never my best student, Miss Lovegood.""You were never my best teacher, Professor."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Different Hues](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11323707) by [Flubberworms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flubberworms/pseuds/Flubberworms). 



> I have no idea where this is going, except that I hope I'll get far enough to bring in the Luna/Severus love. Inspired by the wonderful Flubberworm's Different Hues, which cemented this pairing as a new favorite for me.

“I would like to assist you,” Lovegood says, somehow simultaneously serious and insouciant in her usual airy voice. 

Taken aback by the sudden, and unusual, request, Severus takes a moment to respond. “You were never my best student, Miss Lovegood,” he states, both as an answer and an invitation for her to explain herself further. 

Luna shrugs. “You were never my best teacher, Professor,” she answers without malice. 

Severus finds himself struggling to summon his ire at Luna Lovegood’s simple, straight-forward statement of fact. He can’t believe Lovegood has a malicious cell in her whole being. 

“You consistently fail - or refuse - to follow directions,” Severus finds himself saying. Justifying his initial distrust of accepting Lovegood’s help. And Severus was sure he never needed help, to begin with. Even if he did, he certainly wouldn’t make it public knowledge. 

Immediately she gives him a serene smile. She can sense his resolve weakening, Severus is sure. “I follow my intuition.”

Severus glowers. To him, intuition is akin to divination - nonsense only dunderheads believe, and he finds himself disgusted, disappointed that the odd, uncanny, frustrating, but clever woman puts her faith in such things. 

As if she can read Severus’ train of thought, she adds, “It has never steered me wrong.”

He stares at Lovegood, hard, willing himself not to roll his eyes. “No.” 

Luna’s eyes widen, surprised at the bite in Snape’s tone. But then her breezy smile returns. She knows this is not their last conversation on the topic. As a whole, Luna is a very patient person; she can wait Snape out. “Thank you for the lovely chat, Professor,” she sing-songs. Skipping away, Luna calls, “See you next week!”

She is too far away for Severus to snip back a reply. He does not raise his voice. Yelling or bellowing means he has lost his composure, which Severus cannot tolerate in himself. 

Severus fingers the ugly raised scars beneath his signature high collar. They still burn at his touch. His vocal cords still burn in his throat. He cannot raise his voice.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as students are out of earshot, Minerva rounds on him. “Severus!” she barks. 

“Minerva,” he replies. Cold and aloof; he refuses to acknowledge the Headmistress's reprimand. 

Minerva's frown deepens at this petulant behavior. “This has gone on long enough, Severus. Don't play dumb with me, lad,” she says when Severus raises his brows in mock innocence. 

He returns her glower. “It's not my hide she's saving, Minerva, and I have no reason to lick any further boots.”

Minerva, never one for violence, feels her hand twitch with the urge to bodily shake the man. “Common courtesy is not boot-licking, Severus. You will desist in your rudeness to Professor,” she enunciates, “Lovegood. And if you can find a sliver of magnanimity or cannot stoop so low to call her by her proper title, you will,” she punctuates, “do her the favor of calling her Luna or Madam Lovegood.” 

Severus sneers, but before he can spit out a scathing remark about the oxymoron of Professor or Madam Lovegood, Minerva cuts him off. “Am I clear, lad? Or dinnae ya hear me the first time?” 

Aware that Minerva's Scottish brogue spelled trouble, Severus nods once in affirmation. 

Minerva releases a pent up breath and visibly relaxes. “Thank you, Severus. Luna is doing Hogwarts a service, filling in for Hagrid on such short notice. She has a strong will, but I won't let anyone bully her out of the school.”

“She's hardly more qualified than that lumbering oaf, Minerva, and that's not a compliment,” Severus says. “And since when do you care about bullying, Madam Headmistress?” 

A true fire burns within her gaze. “Since that old coot up and died, leaving me in charge of fixing his massively bollocksed management of the school.” Then her gaze softens, and she reaches out to touch Severus’ arm. “I am sorry, lad. If I could do it all over…”

He pities the woman before him, eaten up by grief and guilt as much as himself. He holds back his barbed words, his innate response to strike out and hurt. Instead, Severus gently removes Minerva's hand, giving it a twitch of a squeeze, and leaves. 

‘If I could do it all over…’ but they cannot.


	3. Chapter 3

True to her unrequested promise, Luna Lovegood returns a week later, on Friday to observe as Severus Snape grades papers and write out lesson plans. 

Her presence irritates and unsettles Severus. “Don’t you have something better to do? Like chasing wrackles or catching narspurts? Or actual class work?” 

Luna smiles. “I am working,” she answers from her perch on a nearby desk. She knows Snape doesn’t believe in nargles or wrackspurts, like most wizarding folk, and doesn’t correct him. She will not to rise to his bait.

Severus catches Lovegood peering down at the essay in front of him, her head tilted far to the side. “Need a better look?” he snaps. 

“Oh!” Luna cries, “that would be most helpful, Professor. Thank you.” 

Severus sneers at her ignorance of sarcasm, but turns the paper toward Lovegood anyway. He is always in dire need of entertainment on these long, painful evenings. 

Luna chirps happily as she picks up the parchment and returns to her non-seat. 

Her eyes roam the page, and Severus cannot help but watch her face as she skims the writing. Lovegood pouts and says “oh dears” and clucks her tongue as she goes. 

“Thoughts, Miss - that is, Madam?” Severus catches himself, almost choking on the sour taste of his words. 

“Hogwarts should really hire someone to teach English.” 

Severus bites his tongue to keep from laughing. “Perhaps you should suggest that to Minerva. Merlin knows Albus didn’t listen to me, but a second voice of wisdom…” Severus wishes he could snatch the words back into his mouth as soon as they leave it. Lovegood, wisdom indeed. Instead Severus’ scowl deepens, and he throws himself into the next essay. 

“Luna.” 

Severus raises his eyes, perturbed. “Pardon?”

“My name - you may call me Luna, sir.”

Severus can feel the color draining from his face.

“Or just ‘Lovegood,’ if that’s easier for you, Professor.” Lovegood gives him another of her serene smiles. “I won’t take offense, and I’m sure our Headmistress cannot complain either.”

Distinctly uncomfortable, Severus doesn’t directly reply. He wandlessly levitates a quill and ink pot her way. “Make yourself useful, Lovegood, instead of sitting there like a toad.”

Luna, overcome with pleasure at being trusted with such an important task, snatches half the stack of essays off Snape’s desk before plopping back onto the desktop cross legged to revise. Already she has replaced the quill with sparkly pink pen. 

Severus forgets that his least favorite Ravenclaw sits before him, helping him grade - of all things! - until she pipes up with, “Professor, I have a question…”

Without any discussion, nor formal arrangement, this becomes their weekly routine. Luna, circling good things, crossing out bad things, and making short comments in the margins with her sparkly pink pen. Severus, planning his next lessons with renewed vigor until Luna returns the essays for his review of her markup. 

Severus doesn’t even complain when Luna takes his lesson notes to read over as well. He finds that someone sharing in potions and asking actual intelligent questions is a balm for his unappreciated soul. 

Even if that person is Luna Loony Lovegood.


End file.
